Cont. News and Opinion: Texas High Court Stays Execution of Robert Roberson
Regan Bowlby
Cont. News and Opinion: Texas High Court Stays Execution of Robert Roberson
San Antonio Express-News (Editorial): Texas court halts Roberson execution, giving hope for justice
San Antonio Express-News (Opinion): Roberson's plight shows why Texas should abolish the death penalty
Austin American Statesman (LTEs): Pause in execution of Robert Roberson provides time for case review
WFAA: State Representative advocating on behalf of death row inmate Robert Roberson, 'Thankful' execution blocked
CBS Austin (Video): Texas court stays execution of Robert Roberson; lawyer hails it as 'important' step
Breitbart: Texas Halts 2003 Piney Woods Death Sentence — ‘Shaken Baby’ Conviction Reconsidered Under Junk Science Law
Democracy Now!: Texas Court Halts Execution of Robert Roberson, Convicted over “Shaken Baby Syndrome”
Houston Public Media (Podcast): Robert Roberson case (Oct. 10, 2025)
Fox Rio Grande Valley: Texas Court Grants Shocking Stay of Execution for Robert Roberson
KBTX: Robert Roberson’s case sent back to trial court
Texas Standard: Why a Texas appeals court halted Robert Roberson’s execution
Davis Vanguard: Texas Court Steps In to Prevent Possible Wrongful Execution of Robert Roberson
KLTV: Brother of Nikki Curtis speaks out as Robert Roberson execution halted again
Texas court halts Roberson execution, giving hope for justice
Express-News Editorial Board, October 10, 2025
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday took a major step toward righting an injustice — and, more critically, preventing the gravest one from occurring in the coming days — by halting the planned Oct. 16 execution of Robert Roberson.
Along with granting a stay of execution, the state’s highest criminal court ordered that Roberson’s request for a new trial be reconsidered in light of new evidence and evolving science.
Roberson, who has been on death row since being convicted in 2003 of murdering his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, the year before, has never abandoned his claim of innocence, and mounting evidence supports him.
Lawyer Gretchen Sween has filed multiple applications for a writ of habeas corpus on Roberson’s behalf, arguing not only that her client is innocent but that no murder occurred.
Rather, she has made an overwhelmingly compelling case, backed by national and international experts in medical and forensic science, that Nikki suffered from multiple health issues — pneumonia, a blood clotting disorder, misdiagnosis and inappropriately prescribed medications — that combined to cause her death.
Now, Sween will have an opportunity to present at least some evidence of those assertions to a trial court as she seeks to vacate Roberson’s conviction and receive a new trial.
The appeal court's order, in a 5-4 vote, directs the trial court in the case to resolve the issues that Roberson, though Sween, raised in his fifth subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus.
In that subsequent writ, one of seven filed, the key issue is whether Roberson merits a new trial based on a ruling the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued exactly one year before its recent order. That’s when it ordered a new trial for Andrew Roark, who was convicted in 1997 of physically harming a 13-month-old girl under his care based on what’s become known as shaken baby syndrome.
That syndrome, which prosecutors relied on to convict Roberson, has since been discredited as junk science. The appeal court's finding of fact in its Roark opinion states that a person “cannot shake an infant hard enough to generate the force necessary to cause the injury seen in this case, and even if it could, the shaking would break the infant’s neck.”
It’s worth noting that the child abuse pediatrician who testified about shaken baby syndrome as evidence against Roark also testified to that effect in Roberson’s trial.
After Roark’s conviction was vacated, the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed his case. The district attorney's office agreed that Roark “is actually innocent.”
Thursday’s order puts Roberson’s case on a course to return to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, likely in six months to a year. That’s because the trial court lacks the authority to grant a new trial, merely to recommend that the appeals court do so. Therefore, the case will return to it either to affirm a recommendation for a new trial or hear why it should grant one anyway.
That’s a reality that two judges on the appeals court — Lee Finley and David Schenck, the presiding judge — raised in separate opinions in which they concurred with staying the execution but dissented with referring the matter back to the trial court.
“This will likely only serve to delay the ultimate merits resolution to which both the State and Roberson are entitled,” Schenck wrote. “The merits of Roberson’s claims and the cumulative effect of the evidence Roberson presents … would be more properly and more swiftly assessed at this point by a jury in a new trial.”
While we agree that the mounting evidence would have justified a new trial without going back through the lower court, we are encouraged that Roberson is finally being heard.
It’s not assured that Roberson will receive a new trial, but the opinions filed by Schenck and Finley, along with one by Judge Bert Richardson, convey skepticism of the prosecutors’ case in the wake of the Roark ruling.
“Certain assumptions and conclusions that were once thought to be true may not be,” Richardson wrote. “The State’s theory of the case was inseparably intertwined with Shaken Baby Syndrome as it was medically understood more than 20 years ago.”
If Roberson is granted a new trial, his legal team will also present mounds of other affirmative evidence and testimony that was not available during his first trial. And as with Roark, we’re convinced it will be difficult to convince 12 jurors that a crime occurred.
While the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' order has given Roberson and those who believe him new hope, for which we are also thankful, that order — narrowly written as the law and procedure allow — doesn’t get to the humanity of this matter.
Roberson has been maligned by many state officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are eager for various unjustified reasons to execute him. Without any actual knowledge of Roberson, they desperately want us to believe that he is a degenerate and depraved man who doesn’t deserve the efforts being taken on his behalf.
If there is one person to heed as to what kind of person Roberson is, it may be Brian Wharton, the lead detective in the investigation of Nikki’s death who has since retired from law enforcement.
After learning years after Roberson’s conviction that he is autistic, along with a slew of other information contradicting the state’s case, Wharton saw Roberson in a new light. Wharton visited Roberson on death row and was moved not only by his genuinely gentle affect but by his immediate forgiveness.
“It came so freely and so easily, his forgiveness,” Wharton told NBC’s Lester Holt for a podcast series about the case. “Robert is a very gentle spirit. He is very sincere.”
And we hope that someday soon he will be free.
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https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/robert-roberson-execution-update-21093326.php
Roberson's plight shows why Texas should abolish the death penalty
Better to abolish the death penalty altogether and stop gambling with lives.
Cameron Vickrey, October 10, 2025
One week before he was set, for the second year in a row, to be executed by the state of Texas, Robert Roberson’s life was spared.
This “will they or won’t they move forward with the execution” drama series is not a show I recommend.
I’m grateful to judges such as Bert Richardson and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, attorneys and advocates such as Gretchen Sween and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and countless individuals who spoke up to save Roberson's life.
But if we didn’t have a death penalty to begin with, we wouldn’t need to invoke so much torture on another soul and on those of us watching with horror.
Roberson’s case is Exhibit A for why we should abolish the death penalty.
First, let’s recap what happened.
When Roberson’s 2-year old daughter, Nikki, died in 2002, the medical examiner diagnosed the cause of death as shaken baby syndrome. Twenty years later, the science has advanced, and many people convicted of harming children in this way have since been exonerated.
Roberson would have been the only person put to death based on this debunked standard.
During Roberson’s arrest and trial, he displayed “odd” behaviors and seemed unemotional and detached, leading the jury and those involved to believe he was guilty of his daughter’s murder. He has since been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Also since his conviction and sentencing, a thorough review of Nikki’s medical history shows convincing evidence that her death resulted from her already fragile health, combined with pneumonia and the prescribed administration of drugs no longer considered safe for children.
However, none of these factors — her health, Roberson's autism and the advancement of science — have yet been considered in a court of law.
This is basis for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ logical decision to stay Roberson's execution.
Every year for the past four years I have followed a dramatic last-minute intervention before an execution. I’ve done what I could to advocate, alongside many others, for the lives of these inmates, who thankfully were spared.
Melissa Lucio in 2022. She was blamed for her daughter’s accidental death after she confessed during a verbally abusive and coercive interrogation. Her stay of execution came from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals just two days before her execution date.
Will Speer in 2023. Speer was never presumed innocent. He has admitted to his crime, but he had done the hard work of rehabilitation, repentance and transformation. He was a spiritual leader among the prisoners. After the Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously voted to proceed with his execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals intervened with only two hours to spare.
Roberson in 2024. A year ago, Roberson faced his first execution date on Oct. 17. After the Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a ruling on another case that relied on shaken baby syndrome the week prior, we all thought Roberson's reprieve was certain.
But it wasn’t until a committee of the Texas Legislature issued a subpoena requesting Roberson's presence on Oct. 24, 2024 (a week after he was set to be executed), that things changed.
The Texas Supreme Court weighed in, not on the basis of his guilt or innocence but to prevent a separation-of-powers breach between the judicial and legislative branches.
Roberson in 2025. In June, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion in a district court requesting a new execution date for Roberson. The judge ruled in Paxton’s favor and set a new date for Thursday without reviewing the new evidence that points to Roberson's innocence.
Alongside these cases are many individuals who weren’t saved. This year, Texas has executed five men: Steven Nelson, Richard Tabler, Moises Mendoza, Matthew Johnson and Blaine Milam. Since 1982, that number is 596, several of whom are considered wrongfully executed.
One wrongful execution is one too many. As Judge Richardson wrote in his concurring opinion Thursday, “A death sentence is clearly final and, once carried out, hindsight is useless.”
I’ve grown tired of the same storyline. This series has jumped the shark. It’s time to move on from the death penalty, Texas. It’s antiquated, inhumane, inequitably delivered and unquestionably immoral.
As a Christian, I care a great deal about justice. My faith centers on a gentle man who was executed for crimes he didn’t commit.
Jesus taught us there is ample room for mercy, grace, second chances, and even forgiveness and repentance. We can afford to err on the side of mercy. It’s a risk worth taking as opposed to the risk of irreversible errors.
Are we really willing to leave justice in the hands of appellate court saviors at the 11th hour again and again?
Better to abolish the death penalty altogether and stop gambling with lives.
Cameron Vickrey is a Baptist minister and co-author of the children’s book “My Love, God Is Everywhere.” ciem...@gmail.com.
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More autism awareness
As the mother of a pre-teen son with autism, I read Jacquie Benestante’s commentary on Robert Roberson’s case with both a heartbreak and alarm.
My son is bright, funny and thriving in school academically, but he often struggles socially. His teachers, peers and even extended family sometimes mistake his flat or limited expressions as indifference.
I can only imagine how much worse those misunderstandings would be in a hospital or courtroom.
That is why Roberson’s situation terrifies me. His autism traits — described as “odd” or “unemotional” — were used as proof of guilt in a tragedy that was not even a crime.
What happened to him could happen to so many others if we don’t demand more autism awareness in law enforcement and in our courts.
My son deserves to grow up in a society that sees his differences accurately, not as evidence of something sinister. Texas must not execute a man whose disability was mistaken for guilt.
We owe it to every autistic child and family to stop this injustice.
Rachel Cannon, Austin
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An awful misunderstanding
Jacquie Benestante’s commentary on autism and the flawed criminal case against Robert Roberson is a hard-hitting read.
Autism is now in everyday conversation, which is clearly a positive, but what good comes from this awareness, if it is not taken seriously in our courts, where life and death decisions can be adjudicated?
In Roberson’s case, his autistic traits of lacking interest or empathy and appearing distant were misunderstood as signs of "guilt."
This was compounded by the medical testimony used to convict him, which was subsequently discredited. The court system keeps failing Roberson at every turn.
The Texas court system has an opportunity to demonstrate its strength and commitment to justice by halting Roberson's execution.
Carey Jayne Brett, Austin
Editor's note: Roberson's execution date was postponed Thursday when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the case back to the trial court for review.
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State Representative advocating on behalf of death row inmate Robert Roberson, 'Thankful' execution blocked
State Representative Lacey Hull visited Roberson on death row the day before the decision
Michael McCardel, October 10, 2025
Just one week before he was scheduled to be put to death, the Court of Criminal Appeals blocked Robert Roberson’s execution, sending the case back to trial court.
State Representative Lacey Hull, R-District 138, is part of a group of bipartisan lawmakers who’ve advocated for a new trial and helped to previously delay Roberson’s execution in 2024.
“Obviously, we wish it was sooner, but just so thankful that it happened. Just so thankful,” Rep. Hull told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Roberson was scheduled to be executed in connection with the 2003 conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He has claimed his innocence in the two decades since.
Roberson requested a stay of execution under the state’s junk science law, which allows for a review of a case in which the science that helped secure a conviction has been debunked.
As part of its order, the Court of Criminal Appeals referred back to its 2024 decision to overturn the shaken baby conviction of a Dallas County man because of the changing science behind the diagnosis.
If he had been executed on October 16, Roberson would have become the first death row inmate put to death in the U.S. for a shaken baby syndrome conviction.
Just one day before the stay of execution was granted, Rep. Hull and a group of other lawmakers visited Roberson at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, where male death row inmates are held.
Hull says Roberson still had hope at that point.
“The visit was incredible. We held hands and hugged. We prayed together. It was truly an incredible experience. We talked about some of his favorite bible verses,” she relayed. “A man who has every right to be angry, who has every right to be bitter, and is none of those things. Truly just an incredible person who just had so much hope that he gave the rest of us hope.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals did not rule on the merits of the case. Instead, it said the trial court in Anderson County should review the case and decide whether Roberson should be granted a new trial. After that recommendation, the Court of Criminal Appeals will make the ultimate decision. There is no timetable for the decision.
“Those of us who are advocating for Robert have dug through everything. And for a very long time, we have been saying, and its actually last year, okay, are we missing something? None of us are going to sit here and defend a child murderer. We’re absolutely not going to do that. And so, we’re like, what are we missing? And we realized we’re not missing anything,” Hull proclaimed.
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https://youtu.be/NF6AoeVLxZM?si=pWPMAvCcSGqISyFJ
Texas court stays execution of Robert Roberson; lawyer hails it as 'important' step
October 11, 2025
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Texas Halts 2003 Piney Woods Death Sentence — ‘Shaken Baby’ Conviction Reconsidered Under Junk Science Law
Lana Shadwick, October 13, 2025
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of Robert Leslie Roberson, III, who is currently housed on death row in the state’s Polunsky Unit. The court sent the case back to the East Texas Piney Woods trial court in Palestine to consider Roberson’s “new” or “junk” science claim. Roberson’s execution was set for October 16, 2025.
The Lone Star State’s highest criminal court ordered the trial court to address only this claim, doing so in light of its 2024 decision in Ex Parte Roark. The criminal appellate court remanded the Shaken Baby Syndrome case to the trial court to consider the defendant’s request for another look based on new scientific evidence unavailable at the time of his trial.
The high-profile case saw Dr. Phil McGraw testify before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence in October 2024. Author John Grisham recently released a book, entitled Shaken – The Rush to Execute Robert Roberson, An Innocent Man. Grisham visited Roberson at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. The prison is located just 43 miles from the execution chambers in Huntsville, Texas.
A bipartisan contingent of Texas state representatives visited Roberson at the death row unit in Livingston on October 8, as reported by KETK Fox 51. Conservative Republican Texas lawmakers, such as Brian Harrison, Jeff Leach, and Lacy Hull, have aggressively supported a thorough review, emphasizing that the pursuit of truth extends beyond political lines.
In October 2024, Representative Leach (R-Plano) and Representative Joe Moody (D-El Paso), the Chair of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, took an unprecedented move by issuing a subpoena for Roberson to testify, which temporarily halted his execution.
Houston criminal defense and appellate attorney Carmen Roe told Breitbart Texas last October, “This is a clear message from the House committee that we are moving too fast, especially considering last week’s reversal of a similar shaken baby syndrome conviction from Texas’s highest criminal court.”
On Sunday, Breitbart Texas traveled to Onalaska, Texas, a cozy lake town located between Livingston and Huntsville, to visit the detective who testified at Roberson’s trial. Brian Wharton, who is now the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Onalaska, emphasized that issues of judicial integrity, especially in death penalty cases, are not partisan matters.
Reverend Wharton explained, “We’re talking about the death penalty. This system has to have integrity, or it loses its legitimacy. We’re truth-telling, and if we’re going to tell the truth, we’ve got to tell the whole truth.”
“When you find your errors, you claim them,” the former detective stated. “We’ve got to talk about them.”
Wharton said the science surrounding Shaken Baby Syndrome has changed. “You can’t just ignore it.”
The pastor was the lead detective during the investigation. Breitbart asked Wharton what changed his mind about Roberson. “Integrity,” he stated.
He continued, explaining:
We thought we made a pretty good case, but the science changed, and so that highlights the error for all of us.
But that error opens up, you know, a number of other questions. If it wasn’t that, how much more of a case did we have?
We didn’t have the medical history. We didn’t because, you know, we didn’t have a clue to go look there. The medical examiner didn’t say anything, didn’t say it might be shaken baby or this, they just said shaken baby.
So that kind of tunnel-visions everything.
Pastor Whatron expressed his optimism about the case, stating, “We’re just kind of overjoyed that a court… has finally, actually, apparently, read some of the new evidence and decided, okay, we need to.”
Representative Leach urges, “There is no harm – absolutely none – that comes with pushing the pause button and granting Roberson a new trial. Doing so will not weaken our system of justice – it will strengthen it.”
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Texas Court Halts Execution of Robert Roberson, Convicted over “Shaken Baby Syndrome”
October 10, 2025
A court in Texas has halted the execution of Robert Roberson, whose 2003 murder conviction over the death of his 2-year-old daughter was based on the “shaken baby syndrome” theory, which has never been scientifically validated. On Thursday, a narrow 5-4 majority of Texas’s Court of Criminal Appeals granted Roberson’s request to stay his execution, citing a Texas law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence. The trial court that convicted Roberson will now consider whether he should be granted a new trial. Throughout his more than two decades on death row, Roberson has always maintained his innocence.
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Robert Roberson case (Oct. 10, 2025)
On Friday’s show: We learn what’s next in the case of Robert Roberson, whose execution was halted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals this week. And we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week.
October 10, 2025
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https://foxrgv.tv/texas-court-grants-shocking-stay-of-execution-for-robert-roberson/
Texas Court Grants Shocking Stay of Execution for Robert Roberson
Robert Roberson wins a critical stay as Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reviews new evidence in his controversial 2003 conviction.
Erick Castillo, October 10, 2025
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a shocking stay of execution for Robert Roberson, a decision that has reignited discussions about the criminal justice system in the state. This development comes as Roberson, convicted of murdering his two-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis in 2003, continues to maintain his innocence. The stay of execution, originally scheduled for October 16th, offers Roberson a chance to challenge his conviction based on new scientific evidence, as permitted under a 2013 Texas law.
Texas Court: The Controversial Case of Robert Roberson
Robert Roberson’s case has been fraught with controversy since his conviction. Over the years, questions have persisted about the evidence used to secure his death row sentence. His attorney has been vocal about the lack of objective medical evidence supporting the claim that Nikki Curtis was beaten to death. Instead, the defense argues that the allegations are based on “grotesque falsehoods” that can be easily disproven. The recent decision by the Texas Court to grant a stay of execution signals a willingness to re-examine the case in light of potential new scientific findings.
Implications of the Stay of Execution for Texas’ Legal System
The stay of execution not only impacts Robert Roberson’s life but also sets a precedent for how death row cases might be handled in Texas when new evidence surfaces. The 2013 law plays a pivotal role in allowing inmates to seek relief if new scientific evidence emerges that could challenge their convictions. This law is designed to ensure that justice is served fairly and accurately, taking into account advancements in forensic science and other relevant fields.
Supporters of Roberson’s innocence argue that this ruling provides an opportunity to correct a potential miscarriage of justice. Critics of the decision, however, worry about the implications for the finality of legal proceedings and the possible burden on the court system.
Additional Resources
For more information on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and their rulings, visit the official website: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
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https://www.kbtx.com/2025/10/11/robert-robersons-case-sent-back-trial-court/
Robert Roberson’s case sent back to trial court
Focus at Four: Examining the next steps for death row inmate’s legal fight
Ben Peck, October 10, 2025
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued an order to review the conviction of death row inmate Robert Roberson. The ruling was released one week before Robertson’s scheduled execution on Oct. 16.
Now, his case will return to the trial court in Anderson County, where Roberson was convicted of killing his daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2003. His attorneys are requesting a new trial.
“I think there’s a better-than-average chance that he’s going to get it,” said Mitchel Roth, a criminal justice professor at Sam Houston State University.
Roberson has always maintained his innocence, claiming he did nothing to cause the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002.
During his appeals process, Roberson’s attorneys have cited the opinions of medical experts who said several medical conditions could have led to Nikki’s death.
In the Roberson ruling, the court cited last year’s exoneration of Andrew Roark. His 2000 conviction of killing his girlfriend’s 13-month-old infant was overturned.
Both cases had similar circumstances. The foundation of both cases rested on a finding of “shaken baby syndrome.”
“Over the years, science has changed, and our understanding of shaken baby syndrome has changed,” explained Roth.
A state law passed in 2013, known as the “junk science law,” allows for an extra review of cases relying on evidence that could later be debunked by scientific advancements.
“This is just another facet of the development of our criminal justice system,” Roth said.
Roberson will now have the opportunity to argue for a new trial in Anderson County. If his request is granted, Roberson would become the first death row inmate in Texas given a new trial under that state statute.
“I’m surprised that the state has been so gung-ho about executing him, to be honest with you,” added Roth. “You would think that they would be happy to either reduce his sentence or change it to life.”
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https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/today-on-texas-standard-october-13-2025/
Why a Texas appeals court halted Robert Roberson’s execution
Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed this week, but a ruling from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed that death sentence for now.
October 13, 2025
Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. Check back later today for updated story links and audio.
New poll shows Cornyn and Paxton in statistical dead heat
A new poll from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Sen. John Cornyn has significantly cut into the lead Attorney General Ken Paxton had in previous polls – pulling even with his rival amid their primary contest. This comes after the entrance of U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt into the race, who trails the two frontrunners.
Mark Jones, a political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a senior research fellow at the Hobby School of Public Affairs, joins us with a breakdown.
Why a Texas appeals court issued stay on Robert Roberson’s execution
Robert Roberson will not be executed this week. Roberson was scheduled to die on Oct. 16, but a Thursday ruling from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed that death sentence for now.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies explains the court’s decision.
This week in Texas music history
Jason Mellard with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University brings us a new story from the archives.
Halal barbecue pitmasters making waves in Texas
Halal barbecue is frequently served by immigrants from across the Middle East and Africa, and influenced by the traditions of native-born Black Muslims, as well. And here in Texas, where beef is at the center of all things ‘cue, Halal pitmasters are thriving.
Farhan Mustafa wrote about the rise of halal barbecue for Bon Apetit and joined the Standard to dish on the details.
ACL aims to set the stage for sustainability
Weekend two of the Austin City Limits Music Festival is over. Festivalgoers may have seen new initiatives to recycle more, waste less and power the stages responsibly. It’s part of the festival’s effort to show how a massive music event can be a model for sustainability.
Jenny Dubin reports on these green goals.
The visionary behind Austin’s giant subway sandwich sculptures
A listener to KUT News’ ATXplained series wrote in with a question about a particularly effective piece of commercial art in Austin.
The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana has the story.
Texas’ Medicaid estate recovery challenged
When a Medicaid recipient dies, the state is required to recover the cost of long-term care services from the patient’s estate. But there are exemptions to the law, designed to protect a surviving spouse or dependent child. In Texas, Medicaid estate recovery is managed by a private contractor, who survivors say has harassed them for payment, and failed to recognize valid exemptions.
Julie Poole reported this story for the Texas Observer and joins us with the details.
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https://davisvanguard.org/2025/10/texas-court-halts-execution/
Texas Court Steps In to Prevent Possible Wrongful Execution of Robert Roberson
David Greenwald, October 10, 2025
“Our scientific understanding of what has become known as Shaken Baby Syndrome has significantly advanced.” – Judge Bert Richardson
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed the scheduled October 16 execution of Robert Leslie Roberson III, a Palestine, TX, man sentenced to death for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, while ordering further evidentiary review in light of new scientific and legal developments. The ruling reopens one of Roberson’s long-pending habeas corpus petitions and remands the case to the trial court for additional proceedings.
In a 5–4 decision, the court granted Roberson’s motion for a stay of execution and reopened his fifth subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus. The majority cited its 2024 decision in Ex parte Roark, which overturned another conviction based on the discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome” theory, as providing a “new legal basis” for relief. The court’s action halts Roberson’s execution, which was scheduled for next week, and directs the Anderson County District Court to conduct evidentiary hearings on the new scientific claims.
Judge Bert Richardson, concurring with the majority, explained that “our scientific understanding of what has become known as Shaken Baby Syndrome has significantly advanced.” He noted that the State’s case against Roberson “was inseparably intertwined with Shaken Baby Syndrome as it was medically understood more than 20 years ago.” According to Richardson, the record “reflects, through the testimony of a medical expert, that ‘shaking’ falls into the definition of blunt force,” meaning the jury may have equated shaking with an intentional physical assault.
“Because of this deeper understanding,” Richardson wrote, “certain assumptions and conclusions that were once thought to be true may not be.” He added that the State’s theory at trial “was referenced over 130 times in the State’s case-in-chief and was discussed by both the State and defense.” Richardson concluded that the court’s 2024 ruling in Roark “provides a new legal basis for Applicant to overcome the subsequent writ bar set out in Article 11.071,” and that the facts Roberson presented “are at least minimally sufficient to bring him within the ambit of the new legal basis for relief that we announced in Roark.”
The court’s ruling marks the latest chapter in Roberson’s two-decade effort to prove his innocence. Roberson was convicted in 2003 after prosecutors claimed his daughter’s death was caused by violent shaking — a theory now widely challenged in the medical community. His defense team has argued that Nikki’s death was the result of natural causes, including undiagnosed pneumonia, medication-induced respiratory suppression, and a short fall from a bed the night before she collapsed.
The decision drew multiple separate opinions from the nine-member court, reflecting deep divisions over both law and science.
Presiding Judge David Schenck agreed with staying the execution but dissented from the majority’s decision to remand the case. He wrote that while he supported halting the execution “in view of evidence undermining [Roberson’s] conviction and sentence,” he believed that the case should proceed directly to a new trial rather than returning to the trial court for further hearings.
“The merits of Roberson’s claims and the cumulative effect of the evidence Roberson presents — in his fifth application as well as his previous and subsequent applications — would be more properly and more swiftly assessed at this point by a jury in a new trial,” Schenck wrote. “I believe the State is entitled to an opportunity to present this case on its merits to an actual jury without further delay or further speculation about what a jury might do when presented with all of (and only) the admissible, relevant evidence.”
Judge Schenck also argued that any constitutional system “requires this Court, not the Legislature, to apply its operative provisions aimed at protecting against a potentially erroneous deprivation of life at the hands of the State itself.” He wrote, “A new trial is necessary and mandated by our Constitution, irrespective of any statutory bar to the consideration of the writ.”
Judge L. Charles Finley wrote separately to concur in part and dissent in part, saying he agreed with reopening the case but would have also permitted Roberson’s actual innocence claims to move forward. Finley explained that he saw “little distinction between the bases for Applicant’s Article 11.073 claims and Applicant’s actual innocence claims.”
Finley noted that Article 11.073 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows post-conviction relief based on new scientific evidence and that the Roark precedent recognized “that changes in the scientific knowledge underlying SBS would have resulted in different expert opinions.” Finley added that the case “hangs over” the central question of whether Roberson was tried on a “shaken baby” theory, writing, “Based on the State’s arguments at trial, coupled with the evidence admitted to the jury, it is unquestionable that the State’s underlying theory was a shaken baby death.”
Judge Yeary, joined by Judge Parker, dissented sharply, accusing the court of overstepping its authority. “To reopen a subsequent writ application that has already been disposed of — if it is ever appropriate — may be justified only under the most extraordinary of circumstances,” Yeary wrote. “That a reasonable, good faith argument can be made that our prior decision to dismiss the application was, in hindsight, ‘incorrect’ does not count as an appropriate basis to entertain a suggestion for reconsideration.”
Yeary criticized the court for what he described as “ruling by fiat” and warned that the court’s action undermines procedural rules designed to prevent abuse of the writ process. He also rejected any suggestion that Roark established that Shaken Baby Syndrome was “junk science,” arguing that “arguably credible and reliable scientific evidence still exists to suggest that shaking a child can cause serious injury or death.”
Judge Michelle Parker, who joined Yeary’s dissent, authored her own opinion disputing the relevance of Roark to Roberson’s case. “Applicant’s case is not a ‘shaken baby’ case,” Parker wrote. “It is not even a so-called ‘shaken impact’ case. This case is a ‘blunt-force trauma’ case.”
Parker described the evidence of Nikki’s injuries in graphic detail. “A shaking or ‘soft’ impact cannot explain the ‘boggy’ spot on the two-year-old child’s head, the two different kinds of bleeding outside the skull, the bruising on the face and ears, and the bleeding from a tear in the mouth,” she wrote. “When one catalogues the extensive injuries suffered by the child, including two different types of fresh, inside-the-skull bleeding, the obvious conclusion to draw is that the child was beaten to death.”
Parker also contended that “shaken baby syndrome was Applicant’s defense,” not the prosecution’s theory. “He tried to convince the jury that the death was inadvertent by relying on the idea that the child could have been killed due to shaking alone,” she wrote. “Casting doubt on shaken baby syndrome actually hurts his case because it would make a jury even less likely to believe that the child’s death was unintentional.”
Judge Mary Lou Keel filed another dissent, joined by Parker, calling the court’s ruling “an unmerited and pointless remand.” Keel argued that Roberson “has not met Article 11.073’s unavailability or materiality requirements or overcome Article 11.071’s subsequent writ bar.” She said the court should have upheld the conviction and sentence, writing that “the remand is unmerited because Applicant has not met Article 11.073’s unavailability or materiality requirements or overcome Article 11.071’s subsequent writ bar,” and that “it is pointless to order factual development of a legal question, namely, the meaning of Ex parte Roark.”
Keel summarized her position bluntly: “Instead of rewarding Applicant’s abuse of the writ, the Court should — and in fact must — uphold again the trial court’s judgment and sentence of death.”
The ruling halts Roberson’s execution while the lower court reviews the new scientific evidence and legal claims. It comes as a growing number of experts and exonerees challenge the continued use of Shaken Baby Syndrome in criminal prosecutions. The stay marks a rare instance of Texas’ highest criminal court intervening in a death penalty case after years of litigation, signaling at least temporary recognition that the science underlying Roberson’s conviction may no longer withstand scrutiny.
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Brother of Nikki Curtis speaks out as Robert Roberson execution halted again
Family member maintains father killed 2-year-old as legal battle continues over ‘junk science’ claims
JD Conte, October 10, 2025
As Robert Roberson’s execution was halted for the third time Thursday, the brother of his deceased daughter is speaking out about the case that has sparked national debate over shaken baby syndrome.
Matthew Bowman was four years old when his two-year-old sister Nikki Curtis died in 2002. Now an adult, he visits her grave at the historic Muse Cemetery in Anderson County where much of his family rests.
“This is where I have to go visit every time, when I wanna go and visit my family members, this is where I get to go, instead of the prison like them, for 24 years now,” Bowman said.
Roberson’s case has received national attention for sparking legal and scientific debates around the facts of the case. Roberson was convicted in 2003 of killing his daughter, with prosecutors arguing he caused her death through shaken baby syndrome.
Scientists and politicians from both parties have come to Roberson’s defense, saying Nikki died of natural causes and that shaken baby syndrome is “junk science.” Thursday’s execution stay was based on Texas’ 2013 junk science law.
“It would be a stain on this state,” said Rep. Lacy Hull, R-Houston, who supports Roberson.
Despite the growing support for Roberson, Bowman believes what prosecutors and Attorney General Ken Paxton still argue — that Roberson was an abusive father who killed his daughter.
“It seems like this is all a political game, and they’re using this baby girl that’s laying in this grave right here for their political stuff,” Bowman said.
He referenced his own children when discussing the case: “My daughter is four, my son is five, none of that has made their brains press up against their skull.”
Bowman shared childhood memories of his sister, including fighting over her wearing his overalls, and showing a picture of her at birthday parties.
Roberson’s attorney has long questioned the evidence from the original trial. The original detective has said he now believes Roberson is innocent. A Dallas man’s 2013 conviction in a shaken-baby case was overturned on the same basis as Roberson’s current appeal.
“I would like to prove that, and get him home,” said Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney, who has argued the cases are similar.
Bowman says he’ll keep fighting for what he believes is justice for his sister. His message to Roberson: “Tell me the truth, do what you wanna do, but if all you wanna do is sit here in front of all these people and lie, I’m done.”
Roberson will soon have a hearing in Anderson County to determine if a new trial is warranted. Based on that outcome, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will make a final decision.